NHS trusts can raise half of cash from private patients, say Lords

Lords have agreed to allow NHS trusts to derive up to half their income from
private patients, in a move described by Labour as "the starkest sign
yet" of how the health service will be if the Government's reforms are
passed.

Conservatives say lifting the cap will mean private money is reinvested in the NHS, but Labour says it will lead to a 'two-tier' health service.Photo: ALAMY

The proposal to lift the cap on how much of their income foundation trusts can derive from privatee patients to 49 per cent, included in the Health and Social Care Bill, provoked uproar from Liberal Democrats in December.

Trusts are currently strictly limited to how much income they can get from private work.

However, a Labour proposal to delete the clause, put forward by Baroness Thornton, was defeated on Thursday by 212 votes to 154.

Prior to the vote she said it sent out "the wrong message" and could "tempt bureaucrats" into cutting public funding to those which went after private income.

Her proposal elicited a fresh concession from the Government, with Earl Howe, the Health Minister, putting forward an amendment stating that any increase of 5 per cent or more in private income would have to be approved by a foundation trust's council of governors.